Why I Chose To Become An Unocumented Student

I am a graduating (December) kinesiology major at the University of Maryland. Though my major may seem completely unrelated to politics and legislation, the kinesiology curriculum is set up to engage each student in multiple social and political discussions. This, along with my interest in politics and legislation as led me to the path of becoming an Administrative support/Secretary for the Department of Legislative Services. Over the past 3 years, I have become very interested and passionate about topics pertaining to politics and legislation. I want to one day make a difference in my community through these means. I see this as the first steps toward accomplishing the goals that I have set forth for myself. I cannot sit idle and turn a blind

Growing up as a child of immigrants, I have witnessed tremendous amount of interpersonal and structural violence immigrants faced. In my professional career, I aspire to defend others who do not have a voice and who do not have the privilege to fight for their communities due to structural constraints like immigration status and legal status. Subsequently, I would like to become a judge after a few years and then become senator to have a greater impact on change within our country. I want to create an impact that contributes to more than just my community as I understand that there are communities like my own across the United States. This nation ⸺as well as my local communities and state government⸺ is in desperate need for people to take

I am a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, pursuing a double major in Political Science and Public Policy. After starting out college unsure of what I wanted to major in, I finally found my passions in education and international affairs through my majors.

In five years I hope to be graduating college and transitioning straight into the workforce. Growing up in a family company allowed me to learn about how the business operates at an early age. Due to this fact I would like to major in business management and finance. Being raised in a small town can have its benefits but it can also have its restrictions. There isn’t much room to experience new adventures, but it is a place that you can always come back to. My week long experience at Hoosier Girls State 2016 left me to ponder the major, applied politics. The time spent there had my mind reeling on all the ways I could make a difference in our area through a political standpoint.

Over the past few years I have discovered how deeply I want to be involved in politics and international affairs. With those goals in mind, I researched colleges with the best programs for those majors. The college that stood out to me the most was George Washington University. One of the biggest things that stood out was that there is an entire school dedicated to international affairs. This means that there is room for me to grow in any concentration I wish, with a quality staff to guide me along the way. Moreover, it is important for me to be in a diverse and understanding community so George Washington’s involvement with increasing inclusion and creating a culture of cultural empathy makes the school a great fit for me. Additionally, I

My initial interest in naval service came from the death of my grandfather. I never truly understood his service to my country because I was too young comprehend, but as I learned of his heroic contributions, I got a burning desire to want to serve as well. My grandfather had fought in WWII as an anti-aircraft gunner in the Philippines alongside the US Navy. He just barely took down an enemy ZERO before it came in on a strafing run on his base. When I became aware of his military history I was astounded and my grandfather instantly became one of the greatest influences in my desire to serve. He stood out to me as someone with honor, duty, and loyalty and never backed down from a challenge. He loved his country and risked everything for it and

My most enduring passion is the care of foster children. This interest sprouted several years ago when my aunt and uncle first became foster parents. Since then, as I have loved and tended to the children in their care, it has grown into a full-fledged desire to base my career on ameliorating these children’s lives. I aspire to pursue a career in law so that I may one day fight for their prosperity and facilitate their adoptions into loving homes. Studying Political Science would allow me to achieve these goals by preparing me for law school. Along with the ability to lead me towards my desired career path, this major encompasses a plethora of captivating subjects: government, problem solving, critical thinking, writing, philosophy and ethics,

I struggled to be here, at UC Davis. I am an undocumented student and my financial status is unpredictable. At times, I don't know if I will have enough money to eat or buy the required course materials for my classes. I am an independent person that overcomes obstacles, however life is complicated. I would try to find a job, but because of my AB-540 status, I don't qualify for job or loans. What other options do I have? The answer to this is mainly private scholarships. Most scholarships have restrictions such as citizenship or major related. Those scholarships that are open for me are limited and harder to find. Obtaining this money will be significant for me and my education because it will allow me to focus on my studies rather than my

    Two years ago, I became passionate about the medical field and becoming a nurse. There are plenty of unpleasant things to see, on the contrary, it is incredible of how many friendly relationships are made with the patients while taking care of them.

One of the speakers that I was able to connect to was the SSU UndocuScholar Coalition, I’m also an undocumented student and I was able to share my experiences with these speakers. I can speak for myself, when I first came to SSU, I experienced some discrimination because I’m an undocumented student, and because I’m brown. It sounds ridiculous that these things still happen, specially here at Sonoma State University. At some point I felt like dropping out because of how I was treated, but I told myself I’m better than them, and I’m going to prove them wrong. It’s not an easy journey to college for undocumented students, specially for first generation students, who have never been exposed to this type of environment. Not just in education but we also struggle with having some type of representation on this country. Specially now with the new president we have, we don’t feel safe anymore, we are not criminals or rapist, we just want to be educated and pursue a career to have a better future for us and our family. I feel like we have been the target of a lot of

For me, that means working as a professional in the public sector, so in 2013 I decided to return to graduate school to further my education. I wanted to obtain a degree that would allow me to combine my passion for public service and my acumen for business management. In June 2015, I completed my graduate degree in public administration from Seattle University.

Once accepted into college, I aim to study political science and then go on to law school once I achieve my bachelors degree. I

The amount of undocumented students earning a degree is stagnant. From statistics from Baum and Flores only about 19 percent of undocumented students receive their bachelors’ degrees. Why is that? We need to examine the current governments administration and stance on the subject. What is being done with societal views on undocumented education. Lastly, what should be done is the changing of norms for personal achievement in undocumented youth personal self. The limits to their success in higher education can be impacted by advertisement of the problem and a reaching agreement about a solution. There is a need to allow undocumented youth in America to pursue higher education.

This past fall, I ran a course focusing on political and societal issues in the United States, which aimed to introduce students to problems in our society and encourage them to come up with ways they could improve their community and society as a whole. My hometown of Lawrence is an impoverished city of immigrants, many of whom do not speak english, so it was not surprising to hear disillusioned students question whether they could make any kind of difference. While unsurprising, their skepticism, at such a young age, was incredibly disheartening. My goal is to make sure that all children are equal, have access to all the resources they need and understand that they have infinite potential to do anything they put their minds

I am writing to apply for a Masters of Public Policy. I believe this program will provide me the opportunity and knowledge to position myself to be part of the process of how enacting and implementing policy. The recent election and the position that the incoming White House administration has taken on immigration, further confirms my belief that public policy is vital in shaping our understanding of our social systems.